Right to Die: A John Cuddy Mystery

When euthanasia advocate and professor Maisy Andrus receives anonymous death threats, Boston private investigator John Cuddy (last seen in the taut Yesterday's News ) is hired to keep her alive. As this smooth mystery progresses, Cuddy's list of potential assassins grows to include everyone from hysterical fundamentalists to rabid neo-Nazis. However, the PI discovers that her most dangerous enemies may be closer to home: Andrus's stepson knows that she gave a lethal injection to his dying father and was never charged with murder, while Andrus's current husband would inherit a fortune upon her death. Later, the would-be killer plays at target practice with Andrus and Cuddy, and Cuddy fears that he is a pawn in a contest where the same fate may await winner and loser--death. Healy uses finesse to make an appeal for understanding an emotion-charged issue. (July)